The Naitel Chronicles: Jedi's Heart: Chapter 1
by Cari
Summary: The beginning of a series starting pre-Episode II. As childhood friends, Shara Loterai and Obi-Wan Kenobi were very close, but through adolescence and adult life, events have brought them even closer. Although it pains most of them, they choose to hide


Looking down upon the city-planet of Coruscant, she realized she had not been here in almost 10 years, not since the last time she saw him. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she felt her father had planned it that way; he never had truly approved of their friendship and hoped she would forget him in time.   
She closed her eyes and calmed her stirring body. Her limited strength in the Force only allowed her to make a call, to make her presence known. Usually such a call was only achieved by two beings close to one another, usually a Master and their Padawan. Fortunately, because of her heritage, this skill was one of the few Jedi traits she excelled at. He might not know who it was, but he would know someone beckoned him. She just hoped he had not forgotten her.  
Taking a deep but ragged breath, she reached out into the Force.  
Obi-Wan?  
No answer came. Again she tried.  
I'm coming.  
Still no answer. A hand softly touched her shoulder and she jumped in her seat, being a little startled.  
"Shara, dear, buckle in. The captain says it's going to be a bumpy landing," her father said in his soft but commanding voice. She nodded and buckled into her seat, then turned to look out the transparasteel window. The streets and lights of Coruscant peaked through the atmosphere as they descended on the planet. She touched the window, an echo of what she had done 10 years before as she watched a ship leave, not land, from the Gzenah Landing Facility in her hometown of Shirvan on Corulag.  
  
**********  
  
Obi-Wan Kenobi stopped in his tracks, literally, as he felt a shift in the Force. It wasn't a disturbance, per say, but as if a flag had been placed in his mind and waved for attention.   
"What is it, Master?" his young apprentice asked with interest.  
He shook his head and replied calmly, "I don't really know. Something....or someone...in the Force it seems has beckoned me. Or at least that is what it feels like. Like someone weak in the Force but trained to control that power very well...." He stopped and looked around, then pointed to the east. "It came from that way, towards the Senate landing pads. We have time, want to go see what we can find?"  
His apprentice smiled and nodded, "Who am I to question my Master? I know you want to go. I don't have any objections."  
Before he even got his words out, Obi-Wan already had taken a few steps, allowing the Force to guide him. The younger Jedi Padawan smiled to himself, thinking that his Master was acting like a young boy chasing after a good adventure. Through the Force he knew, though, his Master knew who he was looking for, and was determined to find them. There was no danger here, no fear that this person brought forth in his Master but peace and happiness and what seemed to be longing. This would prove to be interesting.  
When the two reached the landing pads, a transport had just landed. Unlike some of the other landing pads, these were attached to the Senate itself for quick and easy access. From the markings of the ship and its location in the Senate's landing section, the ship came from one of the Core System's planets; most of which were not far away from Coruscant and wouldn't be out of the ordinary. A crowd surrounded the entrance of the ship composed of mostly humans. Looking past the crowd and up at the ship, Obi-Wan Kenobi eyed the group exiting the ship. First, an older distinguished man stepped out. Standing tall and lean but with wide shoulders, his face told he was in his mid-60's; his salt-and-pepper hair, beard, and mustache helped him exude an air of dignity and importance. A tinge of recognition sparked in the back of Obi-Wan's mind, but he couldn't quite put his finger on who this man was.   
Next came a younger man, possibly in his early-30's, who stood with not an air of dignity but of arrogance. Many of the younger women in the crowd seemed to swoon over the tall thing built man with sandy brown hair and a "pretty" face. Obi-Wan put this man to the side; not so much he didn't care, but because what he was looking for was about to step out the door.  
And there she was. A young woman about his own age stepped out and walked cautiously down the steps carrying a large metallic case and a few data pads, which she looked as if she were about to drop them. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she handed all of the items except one data pad, to a service droid. She walked away from the crowd and made some adjustments on her datapad and not watching where she was going and walking straight towards the two Jedi. She slipped easily through crowd, not drawing any attention to herself. They paid more attention to the two men anyway. Most of them probably thought she was a servant by the way she dressed in a plain dark red short-skirted jumper, black tights, boots, and a long black coat. She carried herself, though, with an air like the older man who came before her.  
Obi-Wan just stared at her for a moment, taking her in. Her shoulder length reddish brown hair was pulled back, holding curls in a silver clasp. She was pretty, yes, with pale freckled skin and pale green eyes. The resonating call through the Force had come from her, and he was happy it had. She stopped, still looking at her data pad and fingered a deep red triangular stone that hung around her neck. She seemed as if she wanted to be left alone, but that was going to change.  
"Shara," Obi-Wan finally said with a calm tone and a soft smile. "I should have known it was you."  
Startled, Shara looked up to the voice that called her name, locking eyes with Obi-Wan and freezing in her movement, dropping her data pad in the process. He felt her mood change from a weary bored feeling to surprise and then happiness. "Ben?" she spoke in an even voice despite her surprise. "Ben Kenobi, you obnoxious nerf herder, is that really you?"  
He nodded and smiled, and she returned the smile, now walking to him. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, opening up her feelings sub-consciously which almost overwhelmed obi-Wan's probe, making him realize that he tried too hard or she had held back her feelings. Maybe it was a little of both. He returned the hug, holding onto her firmly. It had been ten years since they had last seen each other; much maturity and growth stood in those years, but Obi-Wan realized, as he smiled to himself, that Shara was the same girl he befriended all those years ago.   
Years before, Shara-naitel Lotarei had been his good friend; at times they were inseparable, but being the daughter of a high ranking diplomat took her away, sometimes for months. She visited the Temple often, receiving training on her minimal strength in the Force. Although she would never become a Jedi, Master Yoda took a special interest in her and her ancestry and her inherited skills, magnified by her power in the Force. Coming from a human race that possessed some Jedi-like skills without actually having much Force strength, her family's skills were in future seeking and communication through the Force. For centuries her ancestors served as oracles in the Circassia region of Corulag.   
"I never thought I would see you again. I didn't think you would be here but I had hoped you would," she said as she finally let go and took a step back. "I haven't seen this place in years, since father was elected Governor. Now he is Corulag's new Senator, and I will be here for a good while," she said as she smiled, a smile that never changed in the years past, and still looked just as beautiful. There was no doubt that Obi-Wan had found his first crush in Shara Lotarei when she studied at the Temple. She was an amicable girl whom everyone liked, but she didn't have many friends, mostly because she left so often and she always seemed a bit shy. For some reason she let Obi-Wan into her heart, and they stayed together in her time at the Temple. They last saw each other during a short trip to Corulag when he was 16 years old. He gave her the necklace she wore now, and he loved her then and vowed to never forget her. But they never had a chance, her father never approved of their friendship and Obi-Wan never told her how he felt.  
As if being brought back from a haze, Obi-Wan turned around, "How rude of me. Shara Lotarei, this is my Padawan apprentice Anakin Skywalker."  
"It's nice to meet you, Anakin. I am an old friend of Ben's..I mean Obi-Wan's," she said with a pleasant but weary tone.   
"Nice to meet you too," he said as he shook her hand. "Why do you call Master Kenobi Ben if I might ask?"  
Shara smiled and chuckled softly, "When we were younger I didn't like to say his full name. Obi-Wan just seemed a bit long and I was too lazy, I guess. So I called him Ben, and it stuck."  
Master and apprentice both smiled; Obi-Wan in his embarrassment and Anakin in understanding. To break the deafening silence, Shara spoke up, "If you're wondering why I'm here, well, since father was elected to be Corulag's newest Senator, he decided to employ me as his assistant. I get to go everywhere with him now. You know I've always liked to travel," she said with a proud look on her face.  
"Shara, congratulations, to both of you. But you always told me you never wanted to be involved in politics," Obi-Wan replied with a curious smile across his lips.  
She simply shrugged and said, "So I changed my mind. Besides it seems I have a knack for it, and I actually enjoy it. I hope to take father's place after he retires, but as the Force permits it, let me hope that will be a long ways off."  
Obi-Wan nodded and smiled, watching her closely as she spoke. Despite his control over his body and mind, he seemed entranced just by her presence. Maybe it was the time apart and the longing for his friend, or maybe, just maybe, he felt more for her than he realized back when they were young. That would explain their close bond and how they seemed to find each other time and time again. Yes, she would make an excellent diplomat someday, maybe even now.  
Abruptly the younger of the two dignitaries grabbed Shara's elbow and butted into their circle. As he handed her the dropped data pad, he spoke in a snobbish tone loud enough for her companions to hear, "Shara, you must be careful with they things. You don't want to break one," he said as if he were speaking to a child. He perused over the two males and smirked, "I see you have made some friends. Why don't you introduce me?" he said, giving a slight sneer at their clothing, thinking they were paupers below his standards.  
After she rolled her eyes at his first comment, Shara cringed at having to be polite to this man. She slipped her arm out of his grasp, her uneasiness at his touch seething through the Force. She smoothed her feelings out and spoke with a calm even voice, "Tir Cedere, this is my old and good friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight," she said with an emphasis on 'Jedi Knight,' "and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker."   
Tir nodded curtly and grabbed Shara's arm again, this time a bit roughly. "A pleasure to meet you. I have never met a Jedi before. For as powerful the legends say your kind are, I am surprised you would dress in such fashion."   
Shara bristled under his grip but spoke in her calm fashion once again, "The Jedi are to protect and serve those who need their help. They take no pride or payment and have no need to waste money and buy fancy clothing." If Obi-Wan didn't know her better, he would have sworn she would smack Tir if he didn't have a hold of her arm.  
"Well, for your constituents sake, let me hope you don't start acting like a Jedi. I know you were educated there, but really Shara." He smiled at them all, a cocky obnoxious grin. "Now Shara, dear, you father wishes to leave. Say good bye to your friends."  
Shara bristled once again under his gaze and touch. This time she slipped smoothly out of his grasp and Obi-Wan and Anakin both thought she would smack the pompous man. Instead she turned and walked to Obi-Wan, wrapping her arms around him tightly in a hug, in the interim slipping something behind his belt in the small of his back. As quickly as she walked to him, she slipped away again, "Good bye my friends," she said calmly, with a slight edge of sarcasm, as she walked away. She shot obi-Wan a mischievous glance as she disappeared into the crowd with Tir.  
Obi-Wan reached around to his belt and retrieved the data pad Tir had given Shara. On it was a simple message:   
MEET ME AT THE TEMPLE.  
Somehow she had typed it without him seeing it.  
Obi-Wan turned to Anakin, "Well, my young Padawan, it seems we will make it to the Temple today after all."  
Anakin looked at him curiously and then shrugged. He had learned early on that it was not wise to question his Master, especially Obi-Wan Kenobi. He always knew what to do.  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
